Over the past several weeks I have been developing the biblical idea of the dialogical structure of corporate worship. Historically, church worship services have been… Read More »Dialogue with God in Corporate Worship
Jesus’s conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4 illustrates well the essence of worship with God as a relationship of communion with him. But where… Read More »Dialogue with God
For the past several weeks I have been building the case for a biblically-founded theology and practice of corporate worship. The first few posts established… Read More »Living Water
This past Monday I turned 40, and because of “stay in place” requirements, my wife hosted a surprise Zoom birthday celebration. About 20 people logged… Read More »Why “Virtual Lord’s Supper” Is Impossible
He spewed the water from his mouth. Disgusting! He had recently come from his home in Colossae. There he regularly enjoyed cool, refreshing water from… Read More »Lukewarm
There was commotion at the windows. What are they doing here? he thought. He had not expected to meet this famed teacher, let alone dine… Read More »Tax Collectors and Sinners
It was a strong vine, surging with health and life. The vine dresser moved along the length of the vine, carefully fingering each branch. He… Read More »Abide
The Lord’s Supper is a unique Christian addition to corporate worship, though it finds roots in the Passover meal. The book of Acts describes the… Read More »The Lord’s Supper
The man was a scoundrel, certainly not worthy of the invitation he had just received. He had stolen before—he had even stolen from the king’s… Read More »An Unlikely Invitation
The observance of the “Last Supper” by Jesus and his disciple appears in all four gospels, though John does not give details of the meal… Read More »Do This in Remembrance of Me
In order to grasp the essence of Christian worship, we must start in the beginning. Creation provides the foundation for understanding not only the nature… Read More »Drawing Near to God as the Essence of Worship
Last week I began a series in which I will show the relationship between worship theology/practice and doctrinal distinctives. I plan to show how some… Read More »The Lord’s Table as an important doctrinal distinctive
In 1 Cor 10:17 Paul says, Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one… Read More »A Modest Proposal: One Loaf in Communion
The United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry met recently in Nashville to discuss the relative merits of offering Communion online. You can find detailed background… Read More »Online Communion?
Have you ever wondered how Christian liturgy developed from the simple meetings we see in the book of Acts to the smells and bells of… Read More »Where did all that pomp and circumstance come from?
Regular readers of this blog know that I am a fervent defender of the Regulative Principle of Worship. However, today I’d like to set that debate… Read More »Four Commitments of the Infant Church
Synthesizing an essential definition of worship is a perennial problem. Many have tried, several have given us very helpful definitions, yet few are fully satisfactory.… Read More »The building blocks of worship
We are having some enjoyable discussions this week about the meaning and significance of the Lord’s Table in Christian worship. I have been suggesting that… Read More »An argument for weekly Table observance
Yesterday I suggested that some kind of expression of union between brothers in Christ should be part of corporate worship, particularly as part of the… Read More »Christian fellowship as part of corporate worship
OK, so I’m not really going to defend the handshake chorus as it’s practiced today. But I did want to address the importance and tradition… Read More »A biblical defense of the handshake chorus